Blissfully Happy Vacation

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in." ~ Robert Orben

I am just one day away from vacation and I can’t wait. This weekend is Thanksgiving in my neck of the woods (we Canadians celebrate the holiday in October) which would make this a long weekend for me, but I decided to stretch it out and take the whole week.

It’ll be a busy one. J and I will be heading out for a night at the Blomidon Inn where we make the annual trek for Thanksgiving, returning in time to have turkey dinner with the folks. The weather sounds great for the weekend too, so bonus!

Then on Tuesday I have my photoshoot scheduled with Heather Gionet from This is Photography. She did Lilly Cain’s photos and that’s how I got her name. I can’t wait. We’re taking the photos at Kings College to take advantage of some of the historical architecture in the city. So far the weather is looking good for that too. I’m excited about getting this done. I had tried to do it a little over a year ago but timing and finances never cooperated. But now with THE OUTLAW BRIDE coming out in April, it’s time. I’ll give you the rundown on how it went in next week’s post.

The rest of next week will be spent revising AN INVITATION TO SCANDAL, trying to get as much of the 2nd draft completed before NaNoWriMo starts. I’m tearing apart scenes and reconstructing them in a different order to try and tighten up the story. I should hear about where I placed in the Lone Star contest the weekend of Oct 16th, provided I have cell phone reception.

You see the weekend of Oct 15-17 is my RWA Chapter’s annual Writer’s Retreat at White Point Beach. I start looking forward to this event the day I return home from it. It is a highlight of my year and is always a huge blast. There are 8 of us staying at the cottage this year where food, wine and creativity abound. I’m hoping to brainstorm ideas for Book 3 in the Brides of Fatal Bluff series while I’m there.

And that is what’s in store for the upcoming week. Now, if this week would just END so I can GET THERE I’d be all set.

Never Let Me Navigate

I have lived in Nova Scotia my entire life, which for anyone counting is a smidge over forty years. You would think in that length of time, I would have developed some sense of where things are in this province. Sadly, such is not the case.

Take for instance when I mentioned I was off to the South Shore this weekend to visit the lovely Blomidon Inn and that anyone who has not been to the south shore really should make a point of going. Now, don’t get me wrong, The South Shore is without a doubt a must see for anyone coming to this fine province. However, the Blomidon Inn, and Wolfville in particular where the inn is located…well, its not exactly located on the South Shore. In fact, if you were to go to the South Shore, and then walk straight across to the other side of the province…well that’s where I’ll be.

And this is why, if you are ever with me and you ask ‘which way do we go?’-- just turn around and go in the complete opposite direction of whatever I tell you. Trust me, you’ll thank me for it later.

And if you doubt the veracity of this, just ask my sister about our 10 hour walk through the boggy swamp land of Folly Mountain when she did not heed this advice.

Brain Need Break

My work days lately consist of uploading document after document after document after docu..zzzzz…well, you get the picture. In a word, mind-numbingly-boring. Usually I find some solace in the creative side of things, but with NaNo it is a little less about creativity and a lot more about speed. Get the word count, get the word count! The creativity will come later, when I can slow down and piece things together, fill in the missing parts and flesh the story out.

As much as I love this story and was excited to get going on it, I’m having trouble getting my head into it at times, struggling to sit down and get the job done. I think my brain just needs a break, to get out of the city and away from all the stresses of the everyday.

So, just in time to save me from the mundane, the BF comes up with a weekend away down along the south shore - which if you have never been down along the south shore of Nova Scotia, you really should go, it is not to be missed. We are going to stay at the Blomidon Inn. Our getaway package includes overnight accommodations for two (hot tub in the room – woo hoo!), afternoon tea, Captain’s 4-course candlelight dinner for two, and a continental buffet breakfast the following morning.

Ahhhh…I can’t wait…

Meanwhile, you may notice some changes going on with my blog look. I'm going to try and switch the template and hopefully not screw things up. I've updated it which erased a lot of my sidebar stuff, so bear with me while I attempt to transition to something new... in all my spare time... please insert eye roll here...